Leigh Small, Ph.D., RN

Dean, MSU College of Nursing

Board Member and Education Committee Vice Chair

Leigh Small, Ph.D., RN, is the dean of the Michigan State University College of Nursing.

She has served as a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner for 29 years, nurse scientist for 19 years, and nursing educator for more than 20 years. Small has provided professional service in multiple state and national organizations, including the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners, Sigma Theta Tau International, Association of Faculty of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners, American Academy of Pediatrics and American Academy of Colleges of Nursing. Throughout her career, she has continuously engaged in scholarship focused on pediatric healthcare, child development, and mental health.

Small earned her bachelor's degree in nursing in 1981 from Keuka College and her master’s and doctoral degrees in 1993 and 2003, respectively, from the University of Rochester. She has held various complex and comprehensive administrative roles in nursing academia since 2004. Her experiences include successive leadership positions in four research intensive, public universities. Her passions include empowering individuals to achieve their academic and practice goals, and delivery of evidence-based, patient/family-centered healthcare.